Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Hunter

Say it HUN-ter 2 syllables

English · “hunter”

Common across the UK, British Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 17 more places.

1 in 249 boys born in Scotland in 2025. Number 54 there.

Hunter in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 9, rare in 20.
Hunter in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales91 (down)20255951 in 457582020
Scotland54 (down)2025791 in 249392020
Northern Ireland90 (down)2025261 in 319802020
Ireland159 (down)2025321 in 7421292020
North America
Ontario (province)111 (down)2024113about 1 in 530422019
Quebec (province)284 (down)202517about 1 in 1,7092502020
British Columbia (province)84 (down)202339about 1 in 334172018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)60 (down)2025130222020
Victoria (state)60 (down)2025117302020
Queensland (state)40 (down)2025115152020
South Australia (state)75 (down)202526142020
New Zealand26 (down)2025105102020
Western Europe
France3,125 (up)202551 in 60,5383,1962020
NetherlandsRare: below the complete list20258362020
Central Europe
Austria1,241 (down)202521 in 19,0341,2092020
SwitzerlandRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Berlin (city)Rare: below the complete list2023Not listed2018
Munich (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Cologne (city)Rare: below the complete list2023Not listed2018
Bonn (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Leipzig (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Rostock (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Nordic countries
NorwayRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
SwedenRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
ItalyRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
PolandRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Hunter is an English and Scottish surname for someone who hunted, turned into a first name. Its meaning is exactly what it looks like, and it carries an outdoor, active feel that many parents like.

2 more paragraphs

HUN-ter has two syllables, with the stress on the first. Hunt is the obvious short form, and there are no common alternative spellings.

Hunter is most used in New Zealand, Queensland and Scotland, ranking within the top 60 in each, and it has only a small presence in continental Europe. It was at its most popular about a decade ago, peaking in Canada in 2015. It is now falling in most places where it is used and rising in none, so it is settling into a steadier, less fashionable position while remaining well known.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
HUN-ter · 2 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 2.
Meaning
“hunter”
Origin
English
Related names
Hunt
Where Hunter comes from (Wiktionary)

Male given name from the English and Scottish occupational surname Hunter, for a hunter.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Hunter. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hunter over time

Rising in 0 of the 12 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 11. Peak in Ontario and British Columbia: 2015.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Hunter in England and Wales: #2,357 in 1996, a peak of #44 in 2018, and #91 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300#1,000#3,000200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #2,357, 4 boys1997: #2,337, 4 boys1998: #1,821, 6 boys1999: #2,425, 4 boys2000: #1,425, 9 boys2001: #1,379, 10 boys2002: #2,254, 5 boys2003: #2,857, 4 boys2004: #1,878, 8 boys2005: #1,135, 18 boys2006: #1,643, 11 boys2007: #926, 27 boys2008: #1,085, 23 boys2009: #848, 33 boys2010: #625, 52 boys2011: #473, 78 boys2012: #238, 212 boys2013: #211, 254 boys2014: #198, 289 boys2015: #133, 446 boys2016: #117, 538 boys2017: #78, 841 boys2018: #44, 1,410 boys2019: #52, 1,278 boys2020: #58, 1,114 boys2021: #60, 1,042 boys2022: #58, 1,006 boys2023: #57, 932 boys2024: #78, 692 boys2025: #91, 595 boys#2,357 in 1996peak #44, 2018#91in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
19962,3574
19972,3374
19981,8216
19992,4254
20001,4259
20011,37910
20022,2545
20032,8574
20041,8788
20051,13518
20061,64311
200792627
20081,08523
200984833
201062552
201147378
2012238212
2013211254
2014198289
2015133446
2016117538
201778841
2018441,410
2019521,278
2020581,114
2021601,042
2022581,006
202357932
202478692
202591595

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in Ontario and British Columbia

Half of the boys named Hunter in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2011. Peak: 2015, about 718 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 0 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 0 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 0 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 0 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 0 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 0 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 0 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 0 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 0 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 0 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 0 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 0 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 16.4 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 51.7 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 220 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 423.8 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 430.3 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 559.2 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 577.1 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 317 per 100,000 boys20202015-2019: about 1 in 173 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19290
1930–19340
1935–19390
1940–19440
1945–19490
1950–19540
1955–19590
1960–19640
1965–19690
1970–19740
1975–19790
1980–19840
1985–198916.4
1990–199451.7
1995–1999220
2000–2004423.8
2005–2009430.3
2010–2014559.2
2015–2019577.1
2020–2024317

Source: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (OGL-Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (OGL-BC). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Hunter

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Hunter, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 731, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 143, Scotland

  3. 1 in 449, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 196, Scotland

  5. 1 in 281, Scotland

  6. 1 in 226, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 395, Ireland

  8. 1 in 558, England and Wales

  9. 1 in 1,801, England and Wales

  10. 1 in 302, Scotland

All 40 brother names for Hunter

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Hunter's 2 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 50, Ireland

  2. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  3. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 62, Poland

  5. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 88, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 137, Scotland

  8. 1 in 224, Northern Ireland

Full-name check

Hunter Jack

Syllables 2-1Initials H.J.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Hunter

Sisters for Hunter: Violet, Sadie, Hazel, and 5 more
  1. VioletRose and fell with Hunter · Same generation as Hunter
  2. SadieRose and fell with Hunter · Same generation as Hunter
  3. HazelRose and fell with Hunter · Same generation as Hunter · Same initial as Hunter
  4. SiennaRose and fell with Hunter · Same generation as Hunter
  5. ScarlettRose and fell with Hunter · Same generation as Hunter
  6. EvieRose and fell with Hunter · Same generation as Hunter
  7. PoppyRose and fell with Hunter · As common as Hunter
  8. MadisonRose and fell with Hunter · Same generation as Hunter

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Hunter

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Hunter's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 18 more places.

  2. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 17 more places.

  3. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 17 more places.

  4. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 16 more places.

  5. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 19 more places.

  6. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 14 more places.

  7. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 16 more places.

  8. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 17 more places.

Famous people named Hunter

Hunter S. Thompson, Hunter Biden, and 5 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Hunter

How popular is Hunter in New Zealand?

Hunter ranked #26 in New Zealand in 2025, given to 105 boys.

Is Hunter rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 0 of the 12 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 11.

What does Hunter mean?

Hunter means “hunter”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Hunter have?

Hunter has 2 syllables: HUN-ter.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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